Engine Manufacturers Association v. South Coast Air Quality Maintenance District
Opinion
Opinion
I. Background
The Basin is the only area in the United States classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as an extreme nonat- tainment area for ozone. It is one of only five areas designated as a serious non-attainment area for small particulate matter. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 7511(a), 7513(b).
The District is charged with developing and implementing strategies to meet air quality standards within the Basin. See Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 40404, 40412, 40440. Califor- nia Health and Safety Code § 40447.5, adopted in 1987, authorizes the District to adopt regulations that
[r]equire operators of public and commercial fleet vehicles, consisting of 15 or more vehicles under a single owner or lessee and operating substantially in the south coast district, when adding vehicles to or replacing vehicles in an existing fleet or purchasing vehicles to form a new fleet, to purchase vehicles which are capable of operating on methanol or other equivalently clean burning alternative fuel and to require that these vehicles be operated, to the maxi- 10132 ENGINE MFRS. ASS’N v. SCAQMD mum extent feasible, on the alternative fuel when operating in the south coast district.